Book Review: Dreamland

Quick sypnosis from Goodreads:                                 Ever since she started going out with Rogerson Biscoe, Caitlin seems to have fallen into a semiconscious dreamland where nothing is quite real. Rogerson is different from anyone Caitlin has ever known. He's magnetic. He's compelling. He's dangerous. Being with him makes Caitlin forget about everything else--her missing sister, her withdrawn mother, her lackluster life. But what happens when being with Rogerson becomes a larger problem than being without him?

Author: Sarah Dessen

My Rating: 4.5/5 stars!

My Review:

What makes Sarah Dessen's books so special is the fact that you feel like you can actually relate to the characters. Also, the plots are almost always the same, complete with a girl, a boy, and some romance, and the main character always has some kind of emotionally damaging problem they have to deal with, but it never seems repetitive. 

Dreamland was haunting. It was disturbing. Not words you usually associate with Dessen, the queen of summer romance and chick flicks. But words that Dessen definitely pulled off. 

Classical Piece of the Week: Ständchen (Serenade)

Funny how something as simple as the weather can suddenly make you inspired. This week started off beautiful, complete with sunny skies and temperatures topping up to 25° Celsius. Then, yesterday, out of the blues, it started to snow. The skies became a moody dark gray, and the ground was a mixture of mud and melted snow.

Here's to a seemingly long winter!

One cannot help but feel sad when such situation happens, and I was definitely not an exception. So after all my sulking and refusal to accept that summer, no fall, is basically over, I thought about this piece. Ständchen, by Franz Schubert.

Ordinary Miracles,

Note: Listen to the song Ordinary Miracle while or after reading this post.

People can search far and wide for the miracles of miracles. Maybe it's a girl that survived a terminating cancer, or the feeling that God has communicated to you. Or they can stop the searching, and look in front of them. And they'll see a miracle.

How so?

Classical Piece of the Week: Waltz in A Minor

Well, I've got to admit it: I've lost my inspiration this week. Not one piece has really caught my attention in the past 7 days, and I've been only listening to my old Classical Pieces of the Week ^_^ But I am lovin' one of the pieces I'm playing on the piano right now, so I decided to choose it. It's called Waltz in A Minor by Frederic Chopin. Usually, Chopin's song are pretty hard, but I'm glad he did compose easier ones, for people that are not as advanced like me. ;)

Book Review: Insurgent (Divergent #2)

Quick synopsis from Goodreads:
One choice can transform you--or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves--and herself--while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love. Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable--and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

Author: Veronica Roth

My Rating: 3.5 stars

My Review:

This is the kind of book that will jumble your head with endless thoughts and waver your emotions to extreme lows and highs. That being said, I will be making a list of what I liked and didn't liked, to avoid any some random bursts of madness or just plain randomness ;)...

Liebster Blog Award!

Yay, another blog award! This time, I was nominated by the lovely Erika Anderson from Living for the Books and also the always very awesome Annie from Leopard Kitty Girl Books. Both have fantastic blogs so I recommend you to go check them out!

The Rules:

1. Thank and link back to the giver
2. Answer the award giver's questions
3. Nominate 5 other blogs that have fewer than 200 follower
4. Ask 5 questions for one's nominees to answer   

Since I've been nominated by 2 different people, I'll just answer all 10 of their questions :)

So, without further ado, question time!

Erika's Questions:

1. Why did you start to blog? Well, I've always liked writing, and sometimes, I just felt like I needed to write my thoughts down on something, which sparked the idea of creating my blog! 

2. Do you judge a book by its cover? I'd like to say no, and that I'm not that kind of person, but in all honesty, yes, I do judge a book by its cover. I don't entirely judge it by only its cover, but I think it plays a big role in my decision to borrow it from the library or not.

3. If you could write a book what would it be about? It would be probably be about the life of a teenage girl or something. I'm absolutely horrid in writing adventure or fantasy stories...

4. Have you always been a reader? If not then what book got you into reading? Yes, yes, yes! I've been a reader since 3rd grade when I read the fourth book of Harry Potter. I love reading and I will never stop loving it!

5. Would you rather read one absolutely amazing book your entire life or read books that were only ok or bad for the rest of your life? Oh that's a tough one... But I think I have to go with reading one absolutely amazing book, because I would definitely have lost my taste in reading if all I was reading was a mere okay.

Annie's Questions:

1. What is your favorite genre to read and why? Hands down, YA! I just feel like I can relate to a lot of the characters, and YA books are always very fun to read!

2. Do you like reading books for school, or do you like choosing what you read by yourself? Definitely choosing what I read. Some books I read for school are not that bad, but I still prefer my own taste for books.

3. What is your favorite thing about blogging? Reading the comments! Lol, it's actually really fun, because it's nice to know that some people are actually reading my blog :)

4. Do you like to read better than you like to write? Yes I do! I love both reading and writing, but ultimately, I prefer reading.

5. Have you ever read a book that was so bad that you couldn't write a civilized review? Haha! Oh that's funny. Actually, when I read a book that bad, I usually don't have the will to finish it. But if I did write a review for it, it'd be probably pretty nasty ;)

Whew! Well that's all the questions! And now onto the nominees:

1. The Bookworm 
2.The Perks of Being a Bookworm 

Okay wow, I'm pathetic. I'll try to think of more nominees, but it seems like most of the bloggers I know have already received this award...

Well, here are my questions to you guys:

1. What do you like to eat the most? (sorry, had to ask ;)
2. When did you started to get really interested in books/reading?
3. Other than reading or blogging, what would you do on a rainy day?
4. Do you borrow books or buy books more often?
5. Quick, tell me, what is the weather outside like right now?

I hope you guys don't mind my lame questions, lol... Anyways, I'd like to give a big thanks to Erika and Annie for nominating me, and I'll see you on my next post!  

Classical Piece of the Week: Igudesman & Joo

So this week's Classical Piece of the Week will be quite different, namely, I have not chosen a piece, instead, I have chosen a music group. This music group is called Igudesman and Joo, and includes Aleksey Igudesman, a violinist, and Hyung-ki Joo, a pianist. I discovered this group thanks to my Youth Orchestra, as we will be going to one of their concerts in November.